The present embodiments relate to a pressure resistant housing for an electric component, such as a fuse or a fuse element. The present embodiments further relate to a subsea electric component and a subsea fuse.
Oil platforms are used in offshore oil and gas production. In the operation of offshore oil platforms, electronics may be installed under water, e.g., for controlling functions of a subsea Christmas tree or a subsea blow out preventer. More recently, processing facilities are being relocated to the ocean floor. Subsea installations may include processing equipment, such as electrically driven pumps, compressors, transformers, and switch gears. A subsea processing facility may include a power grid, as well as control, monitoring, and communication systems. The subsea installation may be located at water depths of up to 1000, 2000 or 3000 meters, and thus in the high pressures that prevail at such depths.
The equipment of the subsea installation may include components that are placed in pressure resistant canisters, enabling the use of standard components, such as pumps and electronics. The problem with such configurations is that the canisters have a considerable wall thickness in order to withstand the high pressures. Furthermore, electric connections to components inside the canisters are difficult to implement due to the large pressure differences between inside and outside the canister. An improvement uses pressurized enclosures, in which the inside pressure is matched to the outside pressure, e.g., by filling the canister with a liquid and providing a pressure compensator. Although such configurations address the problem of the canister wall thickness and high differential pressures, such systems limit the use of standard components. In particular, many conventional electric components are not suitable for operation under pressures of up to 300 bar. Consequently, new solutions may be developed, but the development work is cost and labor intensive.
It is desirable to be capable of using some standard electric components in a pressurized subsea application, and to avoid the costs and effort of developing subsea adapted components. For the above reasons, it is also desirable to avoid the use of pressure resistant canisters for providing an atmospheric environment, insofar as such canisters are heavy and expensive in production. Due to the volume and weight of such canisters, transport and installation costs for the canisters are also excessive.